The Cats of the Park
by Empress Kitty
Summary: Shimmer is a young Park Cat, who lives a peaceful and lazy life in the human-supported Park. When a group of rogues, lead by the sinister Blade and his daughter Vixen, take over her society, Shimmer escapes with Feather, a luminary kit with big dreams... Based on River Ripple's old home.
1. Allegiances

**Allegiances:**

**Cats of the Park**

**Moon Family**

_Elders_

Blizzard- Cream tom whose pelt is tipped with silver.

Drift- Dark grey she-cat with piercing blue eyes.

_Members_

Dart- Stocky dark grey tom.

Gloss- Long-furred silvery-grey she-cat with kind green eyes.

Prick- Scruffy grey tabby tom.

Azure- Blue-grey she-cat with adorable blue eyes

Quartz- Pale grey tom with one white paw.

Wisteria- Lithe grey tabby she-cat.

Star- Mysterious pure white she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye.

_Queens_

Lilac- Blue-grey she-cat.

Mint- Pale grey she-cat with white patches and green eyes.

_Kits_

Scorch- Dark ginger tabby tom.

**Sun Family**

_Elders_

Sheen- Delicate golden she-cat with wide amber eyes and a feathery tail.

Bonzai- Long-furred pale golden tom.

_Members_

Shimmer- Golden tabby she-cat with black dots on her eyelids.

Arc- Sleek golden tom, not to be confused with his son; Arc, River Ripple's mentor.

Herb- Dark red tom.

Autumn- Russet she-cat.

Sand- Pale golden she-cat.

Rose- Pinkish cream she-cat.

_Queens_

Clematis- Dark golden she-cat.

_Kits_

Feather- Dappled grey tabby she-cat.

Scale- Russet tom with amber eyes.

Copper- Russet tom with green eyes.

Ebony- Pretty black she-cat.

**Earth Family**

_Elders_

Ember- Pale brown tom with wide amber eyes.

Cinnamon- Petite fawn she-cat.

Flutter- Fawn coloured she-cat with dark green eyes.

_Members_

Moss- Brown tabby tom.

Fern- Bracken-coloured she-cat.

Chamomile- Tortoiseshell she-cat.

Tulip- Green-eyed, fawn tom.

Freesia- Pale brown tabby she-cat

_Queens_

Glide- Dappled fawn-coloured she-cat

_Kits_

Pebble- Dark grey tom.

Hawk- Dark golden tabby tom.

Lush- Glossy black she-cat.

Rogues

_Leader_

Blade

_Members_

Vixen

Snake

Thistle

Ice

Garnet

Bone

Stalker

Saber

Luna

Jet

Spider

Frost

Claws

Cosmo

Terror

Phantom

Crimson

Diesel

Timber


	2. Morning Routine

**Chapter 1**

Shimmer lay in her nest, looking up at the glossy leaves of the camellia she slept under. Beside her, Gloss was curled up tightly with her tail tucked over her nose. The Call of Awakening echoed around the Park, and Shimmer's best friend jerked awake. Beckoning with her tail, Shimmer stretched, then padded outside. The sky was pale grey, and the horizon was streaked with pink and gold. The dewy grass was smooth and seemed to stretch forever, interspersed with the perfectly formed bushes that the Twolegs planted.

Dart, Moss and Arc took up position beside Shimmer and Gloss, their tails waving expectantly. Along with all the other Park Cats, they all turned towards the sunrise and welcomed the new day with a rising caterwaul. Shimmer picked up the note and yowled with the others.

They stopped when the sun cleared the tops of the Twoleg dens at the edge of the Park, and went back to their sleeping places to wash. Shimmer stayed out a little longer, watching Moss disappear under his bush and Arc and Dart squeeze into their sandy hollow. Gloss poked her head out from under the camellia.

"What are you doing, Shimmer? You won't be clean by Morning Meal if you don't hurry up!"

Shimmer twitched her ears and walked over. She sat gracefully beside her friend and began to groom, keeping fastidiously to the Order of Washing. _Paws, face and ears... then chest and belly... now back and tail. _Soon the ritual was done, and Shimmer was ready for Morning Meal. Gloss was waiting by her nest.

"Hurry up, slow slug!" She teased, her silvery fur fluffed up against the chill. Shimmer's own pelt was a golden tabby with black dots on her eyelids. There were three main families in the Park, identified by their pelts; Shimmer was a Sun, Gloss was a Moon, and the other family, Earth, was a pretty fawn colour. Of course, there was no rivalries. Parklife was so perfect that no one wanted to spoil it.

Gloss was getting impatient.

"Come on, Shimmer!" she mewed. "The others are already lining up."

"Alright, keep your fur on," Shimmer answered, padding to join her. They joined the long queue of Park Cats and approached the row of food bowls that were at other end of the Park. The Twolegs filled these bowls every day for Morning Meal and Evening Meal. There was enough for every cat to eat their fill, so no cat rushed or pushed. Shimmer ate contentedly with small, dainty bites. The food pebbles were quite tasteless, but they were a gift from the Twolegs, tenders of the Park, so it was what the Park Cats ate.

When every cat had finished, it was time for Morning Meditation. Gloss led the way back to the camellia and sat down in her Prayer spot, a patch of clover next to a bush covered in fiery flowers. Shimmer settled in her Prayer spot beside the spreading branches of the camellia, and tilted her head so she could see the tranquil river. She found it peaceful to focus on the movements of the bright birds that lived along the riverbank when she meditated. She copied Gloss, and tucked her tail and paws into the correct position for meditation. She closed her eyes and began to pray.

_Thank you, sun, moon and earth,_

_For nurturing and caring for our perfect society._

_Please make it so that I, Gloss, Dart and the rest,_

_Are forever safe and cared for._

_Thank you, sun, moon and earth._

Shimmer opened her eyes. Gloss and Arc were sitting together a little way off, talking quietly, their pelts brushing, silver and gold. Shimmer purred softly. They would make perfect mates, and she didn't mind that Gloss had fallen in love with her cousin. There were far worse cats that she could have chosen. _Prick, for example_. Shimmer glanced over at the scruffy grey tom, who had obviously not observed routine and washed today. Dart scrambled up to her.

"Do you want to play with this cute Twoleg kit that Azure and I found? You'll love her, Shimmer, I promise. She's just the sweetest little thing!"

Shimmer was about to say yes, when she spotted a group of cats picking their way towards her. They weren't Park cats; their pelts were matted and around the leader's neck was a collar studded with teeth. Dart raced off, yowling an alarm, and Shimmer backed into the camellia. The group of rogues passed slowly, with long, confident strides, as if they owned the Park. The leader, a giant tabby tom with lamplit eyes, turned and stared pointedly at Shimmer's hiding place, a growl rumbling in his throat. Shimmer trembled and shied away further.

The huge tom led his band to where Flutter, a Park elder, was washing on a drystone wall. He leapt up to her perch and gave the old she-cat a shove. Then he looked down at the group of sleek Park cats that had gathered, and mewed;

"I am Blade, and I think I will live here."

His cats prowled among the crowd, silencing the protests with a show of claws.

**I'm not sure if I should continue, so please review if you want me to!**


	3. Shimmer's Dilemma

**Chapter 2**

Shimmer stared up at the tabby tom as he prowled back and forth on the drystone wall. Dart and Azure were helping frail old Flutter onto her paws, and the fawn-coloured she-cat tipped her head back to look up at the vicious newcomer.

"Go back to your alley, rogue!" She croaked, her tail lashing like a whip. Blade blinked sarcastically and sneered.

"Look at this elder! She is far braver than any of you. Take her away, Snake and... Ice."

Two she-cats rushed forward and flanked Flutter. One of them hissed and raked her claws down the elder's side. All the Park cats gasped, but didn't move. _Cowards! _Shimmer thought in her mind, but she didn't move either. The rogues leered and dragged the bristling elder to the base of the wall, then pushed her muzzle into the ground. Shimmer trembled as the grass around Flutter reddened. Blade leaned forward.

"Does anyone else have something to say? You know..."

A beautiful russet she-cat leapt onto the wall and murmured in Blade's ear. Blade flicked his tail and motioned with his ears for the she-cat to speak.

"I am Vixen, daughter of Blade and recruiter of the young. We will be staying for one moon, then we will move on with our new recruits. During this time you will obey us, or suffer the consequences. Bone, Stalker, do your duty."

She watched as two stocky black and white toms shoved their way into the group of Park cats. A growl rose in Shimmer's throat. Why was no one protesting? _We're too soft and lazy. These rogues are walking all over us. _A pitiful mewl interrupted her thoughts, then a queen yowled. "Fluff! Soft! They're taking my kits!"

It was Glide, an Earth queen and a friend of Shimmer's mother Sheen, with two newborn kits. Shimmer was jolted into action. She pushed through the throng and emerged behind Glide. The Park cats were in a ring around her, shuffling their paws helplessly. In front of Glide one of the black and white rogues stood arrogantly, two tiny kits dangling from his jaws.

"Do something!" Shimmer yowled, leaping in front of Glide. The other Park cats just stared.

"We can't, Shimmer," Arc mewed softly, his tail curled protectively around Gloss and his claws flexing. "We'll all pay for it."

"We already are," Shimmer pleaded despairingly. "Who -"

A heavy weight landed on her shoulders, knocking the air out of her. It was the other rogue, more kits dangling from his jaws.

"What was that?" He growled. "I didn't hear..."

Shimmer went limp submissively. "Nothing," she mewed softly. "I was just leaving."

"Carry these," the rogue ordered, shoving his load at her. Shimmer recognised Ebony, Scale, Copper and Feather, four mismatched littermates that often rolled about on the soft grass, chasing dewdrops. The biggest, a black she-kit called Ebony, wriggled as Shimmer grabbed her scruff.

"Are you rescuing us, Shimmer?"

"No," Shimmer replied sadly. The russet rogue she-cat, Vixen, bounded over.

"We are rescuing you, kit. Did you know that when you turn 8 moons old, Twolegs kidnap you and stick sharp sticks in you until you fall asleep for days. It's very painful, and guess what it does to you?"

Ebony was wide-eyed. "You die?"

"Worse. Now Twolegs can control your mind! They will make you lazy and forgetful, like Shimmer here."

Shimmer flinched, but didn't protest. She was remembering the pricks of pain as the Twolegs held her, seasons ago.


	4. Feather Takes Charge

**Chapter 3**

Vixen leaned forward and grabbed Ebony's scruff.

"I'll take her," she growled. Feather reached out a pleading paw.

"Can we come?"

Vixen gazed down at the grey kit, taking in her siblings as well. Her eyes were shining and cruel.

"Black is a special colour, the colour of purity and night-stalking. You are a grey, so-"

"Feather belongs to the noble Moon family!" Shimmer forgot Vixen's claws and interrupted indignantly.

"And what family is Ebony?" Vixen asked silkily. Her twitching ears were the only thing that betrayed her annoyance.

"Uhh... she's sort of a Moon, but she could be an Earth." Shimmer realised that Ebony didn't have a proper family. Cats that didn't fit with the Park Cats were left to live as a loner or rogue. She wouldn't doubt that Vixen would use this to manipulate Ebony. Already, the black kitten was staring up at the russet rogue, starry eyed.

Shimmer trembled as Vixen purred faintly and bent over Copper and Scale. Feather shuffled over and snuggled trustingly into her golden pelt.

"Where's Mama?"

Shimmer lifted her head, but Feather's mother, Clematis, was nowhere to be seen. "I'll find her," she promised the small kit, adjusting Feather's horrid posture with her forepaw. Feather blinked.

"I'm coming too," she mewed, suddenly firm. Shimmer jerked back.

"It's too dangerous, and besides-" she hissed, stopping abruptly when Vixen glanced over. Feather puffed herself up.

"We have to go now, while she isn't looking. I'll go toward the river, you head for the Twoleg dens, and we'll meet behind the den Scale, Copper, Ebony and I share with Mama. Under the agapanthus."

Shimmer didn't have time to protest before the dainty grey kitten yowled. "Now!" In an extremely unladylike way and raced off. She didn't have any choice but to skitter in the other direction, just outpacing a furious Vixen and losing her pursuer in a maze of perfectly clipped hedges. Shimmer paused by a fountain to catch her breath, then trotted cautiously to the meeting point in a clump of glossy agapanthus. Feather was there already, dark eyes gleaming.

"This way," the kit mewed softly, creeping forward. Shimmer followed reluctantly.

Feather led her along a roundabout route to the sunset border of the Park, a hill cloaked in wildflowers. Shimmer flopped down at the top, breathing hard. Feather frowned and jabbed at her elder.

"Hey!" She hissed. "Help me look for Mama."

Shimmer shook her head. "Tomorrow, Feather. Clematis is down there, by Glide and Lilac. Guarded by three rogues." She pointed with her tail. "We can't do anything now."

Feather drooped. Shimmer wrapped her tail around one of the kit's legs and angled her ears at the Twolegplace. "We'll stay there, with some kindly Twoleg like the ones that feed us."

"No. We need to stay hidden. We can sleep in a sheltered garden."

"Ugh. It'll be cold and wet, not like our cosy dens, Feather."

"I don't care. Come on, Shimmer!" With that, Feather spun around and bounded to the fence, paused, then leapt gracefully over. Shimmer reluctantly copied, and growled softly when she landed in a spiky succulent bush on the other side. Feather purred.

"Here!"

She darted under a bush. Shimmer glanced longingly at the light shining from the Twoleg nest, then followed. She was starting to feel like a trotting dog, with Feather as her Twoleg.

**Please review!**


	5. What Have The Rogues Done?

**Chapter 4**

Shimmer woke up when a chilly breeze disturbed her makeshift nest, and groaned. All she'd been able to find last night was dead leaves and a bit of bracken. Feather was lucky, she had found a long, downy feather that had blown across from an enclosure full of clucking ginger birds and quickly tucked it into her half of the nest.

Shimmer stretched and shook the sleeping kit. "Feather? Feather, wake up!"

Feather started. "I wasn't asleep! Let's go back to the Park!"

Shimmer sighed, thinking of her growling belly. Maybe there would be some brown niblets left in the bowls. She nodded blearily. "Yeah. We can pass by the food bowls to check on the others as well."

Feather tipped her head, studying Shimmer's features. "Sure. Let's go."

Shimmer stretched, then froze. "I almost forgot!" She started to wash her ears hurriedly. Feather growled, just loud enough for Shimmer to look up.

"Not now, Shimmer. Wash later. We have to go."

Shimmer stopped doing her belly. "I can't eat before I wash! That's disgusting!"

"Who ever said anything about eating? Not me. We are _going_, Shimmer."

The grey kit marched determinedly out from under the bush, and a Twoleg voice raised in a shriek greeting her.

"Shimmer, run!" Feather mewed, tearing across the yard. Shimmer shot out from under the bush and dodged past the ranting Twoleg, leaping onto the wall with a burst of speed. Feather was waiting on the other side.

"Let's just go," she mewed, her pupils still huge. Shimmer set off over the hill, grumbling at Feather's recklessness. She wanted nothing more than to groom Gloss, or stalk a pigeon in bright sunlight, or curl up under her camelia. She shook herself irritably and stomped ahead.

"Here!" Feather whispered, "Look, this bush is great. We can see everything from here!"

She was standing beside a clump of ferns, with a rock turret jutting through the plants. Shimmer had to admit that it was quite good for observation: the ferns arched overhead, hiding any cat that stopped beside the rock, and the spire of stone stood tall, with a ledge halfway up that a cat could stand on and look over the whole park. Feather pushed through the drooping fronds, still beaded with dew, and the golden tabby followed.

The two cats scrambled halfway up and peered over the top. The whole of the park was spread out below them, the lush lawns, glossy plants and sparkling river. The scenery was beautiful, but the cats padding around ruined the landscape with the tasks they were doing.

The Park Cats were divided into scurrying groups of five or six, supervised by a handful of scarred, cynical rogues. Shimmer's eyes were drawn from huddle to huddle, her eyes widening in recognition. There was Gloss, stalking something while a wiry black rogue watched from a distance, and Dart, respectfully laying a water vole at Vixen's feet. He received a hard cuff around the ears with unsheathed claws, and Shimmer winced in sympathy.

She spotted Arc and Moss in a line of bedraggled cats pacing to and from the river, carrying bones to wash in the clear water. Once the bone was clean, they placed in in a rapidly growing pile on top of a flat rock, and went back to serve the newcomers, heads bowed. Shimmer mewled unhappily, pawing at the stone in front of her.

"Shh!" Feather scolded. "Look, some cats are coming up the hill towards us."

Shimmer ducked down a little more and squinted at the shapes. She could see Vixen's sleek russet pelt, and a row of smaller figures, kits, following her. Shimmer made out little Lush, poor Ebony, Pebble, and dark ginger Scorch. A few unfamiliar rogue kits were there to, terrorizing Lush while Pebble looked on.

Vixen spoke harshly to the young group and they split up, sliding into the best hunting crouches they could managed. Vixen paced among them, quick to judge and ridicule. Suddenly Ebony, sweet little Ebony who had bounced around Shimmer's paws so many moons, caught sight of the cat and kitten watching her. Feather waved her tail happily, and was about to whisper something when - Ebony leapt up and bounded over to the pair, yowling; "Intruders! Outcasts! Prey-stealers!"

For a moment Shimmer was frozen, then she burst into action and dragged Feather back through the ferns.

"Run," she panted. "Ebony's a traitor - run!"

They ran, over the hill and down a quiet path of roughly cobbled stone. Feather's tail drooped, and her whiskers quivered dejectedly. Shimmer sat her down in an alcove, and curled her tail around the little grey kitten, making soothing 'it'll be alright' noises as a brisk wind swirled the dead leaves around them.

**Please tell me what you think of this, and what you think will happen to Shimmer and Feather next :)**


	6. A Moon Later

**Chapter 5**

Shimmer stayed coiled around Feather until she was stiff and cold. The breeze nipped at her ears and nose, but she resolutely comforted the grey kitten until at last Feather mewled and shifted away from Shimmer's dappled golden pelt.

"We need to find a place to stay, until the rogues leave," the Moon kit stated, holding down her trembling tail with one forepaw. "You heard Vixen yesterday - they're staying for one moon. We can hold out for a moon, then everything will be okay."

Shimmer's own tail flinched doubtfully. She tipped her head and nodded slightly, after a moment's thought. "First, we'll need shelter. Perhaps if we find a kindly Twoleg?"

Feather rolled her eyes and pounced on a leaf. "No! We'll be alley cats, stalking in the night and fighting loners off our territory!"

"What territory?" Shimmer pointed out reasonably. "It's only a moon, Feather. Surely you could survive a Twoleg for that long?"

Feather shuddered. 'Clematis always said she taught us differently from other Park Cats, but I had no idea that you were a bunch of kittypets."

Shimmer responded to the insult with a superior sniff and shook out her lustrous fur as she searched for a compromise. Feather watched her pleadingly for a heartbeat, then began to wash her ears unhurriedly.

"Alright," Shimmer grumbled eventually, mostly to break the uncomfortable silence that Feather had created. "One moon of living as loners. One."

Feather left her grooming and bounced around the Sun cat. "Oh, great! Let's find a den then mark out our territory!"

Shimmer growled gently to show that it wasn't a game, then trotted up the stone path to a quiet street. Feather shot out from behind her, tail waving enthusiastically, chattering like a whole flock of sparrows.

"How about this bush?" She sniffed it. "No, too prickly. This burrow looks good - nah, too damp. Oh, what about this alcove here?"

She'd stopped by a stone wall. At the base a big rock had fallen out, leaving a cosy archway that lead under a thick, hollow bush with wide, waxy leaves. Shimmer had to admit, it looked pretty perfect. She stuck her head inside, then wriggled in completely and sighed happily.

"Feather, this is perfect! And we'll still be able to sneak back to the Park for food as well as hunting."

Feather wrinkled her pretty pink nose. "I'll hunt, thank you. Plus, there's no cats around here to fight us."

With that, she announced that she was going to hunt, and left Shimmer to scrape together a nest out of dry leaves, tendrils of honeysuckle and scraps of moss.

...linebreakiness...

Shimmer was about to pad back inside the den with her water vole when she noticed that the moon was bulbous and full, the same as the night that she'd fled the park with Feather. It took her a moment to realise what that meant. _It's been a moon_.

"It's been a moon!" She called to Feather. The grey catling bounded forward through the wall and took a big bite of the vole.

"Huh?"

"A _moon_. We can go back to the Park, Feather!"

The Moon catling sat up and gasped. "Oh, Shimmer, do you really think the rogues will be gone?"

Shimmer paused. "Well, we'll just have to find out."

Feather purred. "And I can see Clematis, Scale and Copper and... Ebony." She flinched away from the word, and Shimmer made a little 'pirrup' of sympathy.

"We may as well go now," the golden tabby reasoned. "Come on."

Feather darted after her, and together the lithe silver and golden shapes raced down the alley that led to the Park, and up and over the hill.

**R&R as usual ;)**


End file.
